Apple growers face world of change

Apple growers have to make long-term production decisions and right now
- in a world of change - that is more difficult than ever, says UK-based
farmer Alison Capper discusses

Alison grows 40ha of Gala,
Braeburn and Red Windsor apples for supermarkets along with
cider apples for the drink industry at Stocks Farm, Suckley,
Worcestershire. The farm also grows 40ha of hops – enough to
brew 46 million pints of beer. But global politics, economics
and consumer trends mean the potential future outcomes for the
farm vary wildly from a huge upscaling in production to serve
new markets or being forced to quit apple growing altogether.

“In apples we make long-term
practical decisions. If we’re looking at replanting orchards,
there is a seven-year time-frame from ordering the trees at the
nursery, to full yield production. That means if we ordered trees
now, we wouldn’t see them hit full production until autumn 2025,”
she says.

By then the UK’s exit from the
European Union in March 2019, and the proposed two-year transition
period for normal trading beyond that, will be long past. If it
spells an end to the free movement of European workers, apple
growing at the farm could be in jeopardy.

At harvest time, between
September and November in the UK, the labour force swells from
three full-time workers to 70 employees picking apples. If the
farm can’t attract the workers the stark reality Alison faces
may be to pull up trees and quit apple production altogether,
but she says this is not just a UK problem.

Labour supply is a global problem
and probably the biggest issue undermining long-term confidence
for fruit growers worldwide, says Alison. She points to the USA
where fruit tree growers depend on workers from nearby countries
like Mexico to pick apples.

Political change under the Trump
administration may place constraints on workers travelling from
south of the border. The prospects of switching to a higher cost
US workforce instead, means some growing companies are
relocating to Mexico where labour is cheaper.

Across the globe, economic power
shifts and political developments are also prompting change in the
apple growing sector.

China is a huge market but has a
colossal apple production capacity raising questions over whether
it is a threat or opportunity to the traditional apple growing
countries, says Alison. To date production has mainly served the
Chinese home market with a large proportion of the crop turned
into juice. It could mean there is still scope to scale up
production and target the eating apple market in China -along with
other booming Asian countries. We have a strong position and
could exploit our reputation for producing quality fruit with
careful and conscientious control of pesticide applications, she
says.

What fruit the consumers will want
in these future markets, and here at home, will be a challenge.

“While growers will continue to
look for improved colour, better disease resistance and yield I
think there will be a strong market for cultivars that have
enhanced nutritional characteristics.

“The consumer is always looking for
something new but cultivars which can offer more fibre, vitamins
and other essential minerals will come to the fore,” she predicts.

Read about further about Alison
Capper’s experiences and the global issue of changes in climate
that could cause a huge shift in the apple growing sector [LINK
TO PART 2]

Alison Capper is chairman of the Horticulture & Potatoes Board at the UK's National Farmers Union. She is also a director at the Wye Fruit Producer Organisation in England, a Nuffield Scholar, a British Hop Association board member, chairman of Wye Hops (breeding programme) and is a trustee of both the farming education body, FACE, and the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust. In addition to these posts she and her husband Richard farm in partnership with Richard's father Mark, growing top fruit and hops at Stocks Farm in Worcestershire

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